With the clock ticking down to the midnight expiration of the league’s collective bargaining agreement, Roger Goodell and the NFL’s negotiating team arrived at a federal mediator’s headquarters about 45 minutes ahead of the NFLPA.

The NFL and the players’ union no longer have months or weeks or days to reach a new CBA. If they don’t get it done before Thursday turns to Friday on the East Coast, pro football’s first work stoppage since 1987 is almost a certainty.